Rigging The Popping Cork

I prefer the standard, weighted styrofoam corks without the wire or beads.

The reasons I like these are because:

They are easily adjustable, so if you go from fishing in four feet to two feet of water, you can adjust the placement of the cork accordingly without having to re-tie or change the leader (unlike the corks with the wires, beads, and weights)

The weight allows for more casting distance

When rigging popping corks, remember these tips:

Rig the cork on the fluoro or mono leader, avoid rigging it on braided line

Don’t rig the cork too close to the knot (it may slide up and put pressure on the knot, causing it to pop off)

When corks are worn out and don’t hold their position very well anymore, double up the line in the cork

Super video Tony. Well done. Your input is spot on. Loved the concept of doubling the line when it starts to slip. Popping corks have been a “go to” for me for many years. Here are a few comments/ideas:
1: I love it when the shrimp starts to jump OVER the cork! Something bad/good is gonna happen!
2: When drifting a flat and working a jig, I will often throw a cork way out and just let it trail the yak. Pick up some nice bonus fish.
3: Another application I have used them for is flood tides. When the snook and reds are up in the mangroves, sometimes putting a cork on and working it can “call them out”. I think they think another fish is feeding?
4: Similarly, along a channel edge or mangroves, I to toss a cork way up along the edge and I can watch it come back – tightening or freeing line – to keep it on the edge.
5: Speaking of noise – you are spot on again. Sometimes in clear water or calm conditions I think they may spook bigger fish. Kind of pick your spots, or pop it less frequently. Kind of like picking the right topwater plug.
6: Hooks – if shrimp are “shrimpy” I will sometimes even go down to a #1 wire light hook. Let it work. Won’t hold up for big fish.

Haven’t seen it in years, but we used to get big schools of reds fired up and they would actually hit the corks! That was cool.

They work great year round. It’s more of a matter of water clarity. I seem to have the most luck in murky water since the popping and noise can help draw attention to the bait.

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12 days ago

Guest

Anonymous

When fishing this way is it necessary to use a leader? If so why? Why not just attach the hook to your main line? I have caught many reds and trout without a leader. The only time my braid ever broke was when I hooked a ladyfish or Spanish. It is true that the cork does slide on braid but as soon as this starts happening I just do as the video instructed and double wrap it.

Mono or Fluorocarbon leader is highly recommended when using braid as your mainline. The leader serves a few purposes:

1. Acts as a shock absorber since braid has zero stretch. This helps reduce losing fish from pulling the hook or breaking off in general. Also, if you have a lure or hook tied directly to braid, you will start to wear a larger hole into a fish’s mouth during the fight due to the lack of stretch and “give” in the line. When this happens, you may find yourself losing fish from the hook falling out of the now larger hole.

With live shrimp or live bait it can definitely help give the bait more freedom of movement. I also prefer to use a loop knot with circle hooks anyway because it helps the hook point find a place to puncture. If using a lure with the cork, a knot that is snug to the hook or lure would be best.

If I use a split shot it would be a very small one if fishing deeper water, just to get the bait down a little quicker. In anything less than 3 feet, i prefer to not use a weight and let the shrimp fall naturally.

Another way to keep the line from slipping is to wrap the line around the pin 4 or 5 times then put into cork, also do an under hand loop and loop it on the top part of the pin after you put the pin in the cork.

Love the standard corks and have used them for many years catching lots of fish with them. I like the ability to quickly adjust depth. Another option I found a while back is the Harper’s super striker adjustable popping cork. It uses a bead on the main line to adjust the depth. There are weighted and unweighted versions and I would think someone other than Harper’s makes these floats. Only downside to these is that you cannot take them off as quickly as with the standard cork, but I think a lot of us have a rod dedicated to just a popping cork anyway. Altamaha River Trading Company is a good place to get the Harper’s rigs.

Styrofoam popping corks with pins. How do I hate them- let me count the ways. They always fall off. The line comes out the side and they twist when you reel them and twist when you cast them. They especially like to fall off just when you have positioned your boat perfectly and then you have to decide whether to chase them and wreck your spot or let them pollute the environment. I use the wire ones with beads and have baggies with pre-cut leaders with hooks in different lengths. The leaders have clips on them. I switch the leader out depending on the depth I want. I know it sounds like a pain but it works and it is so much less frustrating than using the cheap styrofoam bobbers that ALWAYS fail right at the most inconvenient time.

Thanks for the reply Tony. I really like your posts – they are helpful and to the point. I especially like your sense of humor when describing the shrimp’s “brain- or whatever they got going on there”. Nice. I’m going to use that 😎

Tony, this is exactly how I caught my personal best 24″ speckled trout back in April. I use the same brand of popping corks and I use a 4/0 circle hook. I noticed that the shrimp don’t seem to live very long, maybe it’s because the wire for the hook is pretty big? I’ll see if I can find some of those 2/0 owner hooks you use and see if that helps. If you really want to catch fish, sometimes you have to include live bait in your arsenal!

Nice Dave! Yes the smaller hooks work much better and will hook just about anything. Thin wire circle hooks are the way to go to keep your bait more lively and active. Also keep in mind, the constant popping and pulling on the line while using a cork will also wear the shrimp out very quick.

Tony, I found 5114T “tournament” hooks at Academy. Are these the same ones, and if not, what’s the difference and which one would you recommend?

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15 days ago

Guest

Reggie Norton

Have you used the Versa max bolt? It is an adjustable depth popping cork that is durable and no more expensive than the bomber, Betts, h&h or other similar corks. They work well for me when I fish those transitional areas where the sound helps but I need to work the whole column from 3 to 6 feet. It won’t replace your slip cork but it does offer versatility and durability when trying to find fish.

If fishing deeper, let’s stay 4 to 5 feet, it could help to put a small split shot about 6 inches to a foot above the hook. Don’t go too heavy though. I prefer the shrimp to fall naturally.

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18 days ago

Guest

Anonymous

thanks Tony! As far as leader length, should i aim to have the shrimp just off the bottom? if so, roughly how much? I feel that usually it’s not and the crabs get my bait. Of course, it could just be me and the fish are nibbling away at it!…haha

No problem! If it is sandy bottom without anything to snag on, It would be ideal to have the shrimp just touching the bottom. If fishing grass, you will want the shrimp just above the grass so it doesn’t sink into it and snag weeds. It can be tough to dial it in 100% but if you are close it will be good enough. Your shrimp shouldn’t sit too long on the bottom though. Maybe a few seconds to a minute after it fully sinks give a few pops of the cork and then let it rest again.

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18 days ago

Guest

Anonymous

Thanks Tony! I’m up in Charleston, SC. We fish near a lot of oyster beds so try to dodge getting snagged on those too. Appreciate the tips!

Great tips and instruction, as always Tony. I only get to come fish in Florida twice a year, and I’ve caught a lot of quality fish on popping corks when nothing else was working. It’s kinda funny, but it’s become my “confidence lure” on the flats….and it really is a fun way to fish. Thanks for taking the time to make this post.

Another rigging option for the weighted corks is to run the line through the plug, and add a bobber stop to your line above the cork. Bobber stops come in small beads or small precut line knots…Easily adjustable to change the depth of the bait.

That can work great as well, however it will tend to fall off and get picked off more easily than a live shrimp. Either rigging method shown in the video can work, but I would pop the cork more often than I would if using a live shrimp to help draw attention to the dead shrimp. Very similar to using an artificial lure with the cork.

Captain, Several great ideas. I know may people feel fishing with a popping cork is for kids, but I really enjoy fishing with a popping cork and have caught a lot of fish with. Particularly Trout and Mangrove Snapper a even Redfish and Snook. Thank you, Tom Watts, Naples, Fl.

Yep you can rig a gulp shrimp or any similar lure the same way on the circle hook. I will also use a light jighead (1/16 to 1/8oz) with gulp shrimp. Some artificial shrimp come pre-rigged so you can just attach them to your leader the same way you would if you weren’t using a cork. The only real difference with using artificial over live is how much you work the rig. With live shrimp, you pop it a few times and let it sit for a bit and then repeat. With artificial, I reduce the amount of time it sits. I will typically start popping it again a few seconds after the shrimp bottoms out.

one day i hope to learn the use of all the artificial you and everyone else do so well with but i grew up with a cane pole, cork and live bait and can’t seem to give it up. i have used the traditional popping cork as you show but somewhere i saw to rig using a weighted cork and love it. the weighted will stand up as it should making it easier to see with these old eyes of mine. as water temperature changes, and other reasons, the trout and others will move to deeper water so the depth you fish will vary. what you show will work but if you need to be 5 or more feet down it can really affect your ability to land the fish without a really long rod. i used to change size of leader but 3 feet was my limit. deeper and i’d free line. as you say warping the line around the cork will be goodbye cork even with a small trout. anyway to keep from getting to long i have found the old popping cork made to much noise and would spook big trout. i assume also reds and snook but i haven’t fished for them in awhile. most my trout hits are when cork first hits the water. i hope i can say this to be visual as i don’t know how to show picture. my rig is first a rubber bobber stopper on the braid. then a small bead to keep stopper from lodging in the cork. then run the braid through the plastic tube in the cork. now another small bead below the cork so the cork can’t catch on leader to braid knot. now about 18 inch fluorocarbon with 1/0 or 2/0 circle hook. hook the shrimp in tail as you show. this way live or dead you can make it look natural as they jump backwards when in danger. now you have a rig that you can vary depth as needed. you can pull line until the bottom bead stops on bead at leader knot and give a little pop. much more natural sound and now let shrimp drift back down. in current you may want to use jig head or add light split shot at the hook. this rig will let you fish really deep water and still not have a cork stop at the first eye of rod. gulp shrimp will also work with this rig but until they make gulp tuff like they used to be i now just buy 50 shrimp.

Thanks Paul! You could also run your line through the center of the pin and then wrap it around the pin (same way as I show around the cork, but around the pin instead) and then shove the pin back into the cork. Just make sure the line that is doubled over the pin is on the opposite side of the slit in the cork. That could help from a fish pulling too hard and possibly breaking the cork.

Thanks! Yep I was just using that lure to demonstrate since it is pretty anatomically correct, but after rigging it up it looks like a deadly combo for artificial. You can replace those rattles inside the Chasebaits Shrimp. There is a little cavity they pop into. You can typically find them in the terminal tackle section at tackle stores or do a quick search on amazon for “glass worm rattles”.

Hey Tony,
Regarding the worm rattles, that is something that can really make a difference using any artificial shrimp lure. Real shrimp emit a clicking sound underwater, and adding a rattle can really turn fish on, especially big trophy Trout. Mark Nichols turned me on to using those many years ago, inserted into the DOA shrimp. ( His passion was catching monster trophy trout, their wariness will match any Snook.) The glass rattles are a little louder than the plastic ones, but both will work. You can use an ice pick, or the hole-punch ‘spike’ in a Swiss Army knife to make an opening or ‘chamber’ in a soft plastic bait to push the rattles into. Installing the rattle horizontally parallel with the body of the lure allows it to ‘click’ with every slight up and down tilt as you work the lure. Just wanted to share a ‘secret Pro tip’ with the Salt Strong ‘family’. Tight lines!

A swivel isn’t necessary. I prefer a clean knot (such as the FG knot) from the mainline to the leader, and then attach the popping cork just below that knot on the leader line. You could still use a swivel if you prefer to attach your mainline to your leader that way.

This setup is what I use for fishing live bait over grass, but I like to use small pinfish. You can adjust the leader length to keep the pinfish just above the top of the grass. It will try swimming like crazy to hide in the grass, really attracting any trout, Reds, etc. in the area. I will use a very small ball-bearing swivel ( they actually work ) to keep the bait from twisting up the line/leader, as they will run in circles to try to avoid getting eaten.
Rigging it as a sliding cork on your mainline, with a bobber stop and bead, is an excellent way to fish deeper water and still use a cork as a strike indicator, and keep your bait out of the bottom. It also casts very well, sliding down to the top of your leader. I’m surprised more people don’t use that setup. Keep a another bead above your leader knot, to keep the peg from banging it. Your line runs thru the hollow peg in this setup. Tight lines!

I love the pre cut bobber stoppers for styrofoam corks and B52 type bobbers. For B52 , remove center wire ( save the beads) and run line first through the stopper, then the stopper bead, then the float beads, the float, the bottom beads,and attach to leader. You can add a bottom stopper if you want. Relieves pressure on the knot. Can’t beat seeing live bait coming to the surface before the strike.